Develop or update drinking-water quality regulations and standards (10, 11).
National (or subnational) drinking-water regulations and standards should be based on the GDWQ, incorporating the three components of the framework for safe drinking-water. Regulations should be customized to consider local needs, priorities and capacities, as well as the economic and health benefits resulting from improved drinking-water supplies.
Suggested practical steps for developing/revising drinking-water quality regulations and standards are:
· identify the lead institution
· define roles to support the process
· define objectives and scope of the regulations and standards
· review existing regulations and standards
· gather baseline data for analysis
· prepare the separate sections of the regulations and standards
· ensure peer review.
These steps are further detailed in Developing drinking-water quality regulations and standards (11), with a particular focus on taking a risk-based approach to establishing parameters, limits and monitoring requirements.
Water/sanitation
National
Regulation
UBN.WI.QD
Restrictions through enactment of laws or standards concerning water quality
Protect drinking-water supplies using WSPs (12).
Proactive management of risks to drinking-water supplies through WSPs should be promoted at national (or subnational) level, with related support (e.g. capacity building) provided to drinking-water suppliers.
A WSP involves the following steps.
(a) Assemble the team.
(b) Describe the water supply system.
(c) Identify hazards and hazardous events and assess the risk.
(d) Determine and validate control measures and reassess the risk.
(e) Develop, implement and maintain an upgrade/improvement plan.
(f) Define monitoring of control measures.
(g) Verify the effectiveness of the WSP.
(h) Prepare management procedures.
(i) Develop supporting programmes.
(j) Plan and carry out periodic review of the WSP.
(k) Revise the WSP following an incident.
These WSP steps are further detailed in the
Water safety plan manual: step-by- step risk management for drinking-water
suppliers (13) with an alternative six-task approach for small water supply
systems
(14) (see also the “Special considerations for small water supply
systems” section below.) Guidance on the systematic consideration of women and
disadvantaged groups through the WSP process in order to ensure equitable
benefit is also available (15). Additional practical guidance on WSPs is
available in the various resources outlined in Water safety planning: a
roadmap to supporting resources (10).
Guidance on applying the WSP approach to identify and manage the impacts of
climate variability and change on drinking-water systems is presented in
Chapter 7. Climate change.
Water/sanitation
National
Other management and control
UBN.TB.ZZ
Planning in relation to water quality
Confirm water safety through independent surveillance (10).
Surveillance provides independent verification that drinking-water supplies are safe and water suppliers are proactively managing risks. Surveillance includes:
· direct testing to confirm compliance with drinking-water quality standards;
· WSP auditing or sanitary inspection to confirm effective risk management;
· review of supplier monitoring records to confirm that compliance monitoring practices and results are in accordance with requirements in drinking-water quality standards.
Guidance on surveillance is provided in Chapter 5 of the GDWQ and volume 3 of the GDWQ: surveillance and control of community supplies (10, 16). Guidance on establishing WSP audit schemes and
carrying out audits is provided in A practical guide to auditing water safety plans (17).
Water/sanitation
National, community
Assessment and surveillance
UBN.VC.ZZ
Public health surveillance concerning water quality
For the management of chemicals in drinking-water, including cyanotoxins, the key components of the GDWQ framework for safe drinking-water should be applied. This includes selecting which priority parameters to include in drinking- water quality regulations (and associated limits), taking management actions to reduce concentrations of these contaminants as part of WSPs, and monitoring as part of surveillance. Refer to the GDWQ (10) and Developing drinking-water quality regulations and standards (11).
The WSP approach can be adapted to manage pharmaceuticals and microplastics by preventing their entry, or the entry of their precursors, in the water cycle. This could include improved recycling programmes and minimizing inappropriate disposal. These contaminants have the potential to reach drinking-water, although the concentrations generally found in drinking-water or its sources are unlikely to pose a risk to human health.
Therefore, routine monitoring of these contaminants is not necessary and concerns over these emerging contaminants should not divert resources from known dangers, including removing of microbial pathogens (18).
Water/sanitation
National
Other management and control
UBN.WI.QD&UGL
Restrictions through enactment of laws or standards concerning water quality
Chemicals and chemical products
For the management of radioactivity in
drinking-water in non-emergency situations the key components of the GDWQ
framework for safe drinking-water should be applied, as described above.
Radionuclides in drinking-water generally present a very low health risk
compared to microbial pathogens and chemicals.
Radiation exposure through drinking- water in normal situations mostly results
from naturally occurring rather than anthropogenic radionuclides. In contrast,
following radiation emergencies involving radioactive release, anthropogenic
radionuclides may represent the major source of exposure. These factors should
be considered for establishing criteria included in drinking-water quality
regulations, management actions and surveillance activities (see section 6.5
Radioactivity in food and drinking-water and 6.6 Radiological emergencies (10,
19-21).
Water/sanitation
National
Other management and control
UBN.WI.QD&UBR
Restrictions through enactment of rules or standards concerning water quality
Radiation
Include safe drinking-water, sanitation and hygiene in relevant health policies, strategies and programmes (22).
Water/sanitation, health
National, community
Universal health coverage
Regulation
UBN.WJ.ZZ
Policy change concerning water quality
Consider the special needs, challenges and
opportunities for small water supply systems when applying the framework for
safe drinking-water (10).
Small water supply systems tend to share a common set of characteristics that
set them apart from other systems. For instance, there are often great numbers
of systems covering a large geographic spread (including remote locations);
limited technical and financial support; reliance on undertrained and/or unpaid
staff; and limited surveillance oversight and support.
Developing drinking-water quality regulations and standards (11) offers
considerations for small systems and other settings with limited resources, and
water safety planning for small community water supplies (14) presents a
simplified six-task WSP approach for the small systems context (which is an
abridged version of the 11-module approach outlined in point 2 above). See
volume 3 of the GDWQ: surveillance and control of community supplies (16) and
the associated sanitary inspection forms for further guidance (23).
Water/sanitation
National, community
Regulation
UBN.VA.ZZ&UET
Capacity building interventions targeting water quality
Water collection, treatment and supply services, systems and policies
UBN.WI.QD&UET
Restrictions through enactment of laws or standards concerning water quality
Water collection, treatment and supply services, systems and policies
Consider water safety improvements within the context of broader
WASH efforts.
As those responsible for managing or overseeing small systems may also be
responsible for hygiene and sanitation, it is important to consider WASH
improvements holistically.
Water/sanitation
National; community
Regulation; infrastructure, technology and built environment
UBN.TB.ZZ&UET
Planning in relation to water quality
Water collection, treatment and supply services,
systems and policies
UBN.WI.QD&UET
Restrictions through enactment of laws or standards concerning water quality
Water collection, treatment and supply services, systems and policies
Provide sufficient and safe drinking-water in communities, schools, health care facilities, workplaces and public places (22, 24-26).
Water/sanitation
Community; schools/child-care settings, health care, workplace
Infrastructure, technology and built environment
UBN.TK.ZZ&UET
Public facilities or infrastructure development for improved water quality
Water collection, treatment and supply services, systems and policies
Support and provide point-of- use/household drinking-water treatment
and safe storage as an interim solution for safer drinking-water while longer-
term infrastructure improvements are being planned and implemented (22).
Further guidance and detail can be found in the following documents (27, 28).
Water/sanitation
Community
Infrastructure, technology and built environment
UBN.RD.ZZ
Provision of products or technology to improve water quality
Promote the use of safe drinking-water in communities, schools, health care facilities, workplaces and public places (22, 24-26).
Health, education
Community, schools/child-care settings,
health care, workplace
Universal health coverage
Information, education and communication
UBN.VB.ZZ&XBO8.6
Awareness raising concerning water quality
Community
UBN.PM.ZZ&XBO8.6
Education about water quality
Community
Promote point-of-use/household drinking-water treatment and safe storage as an interim solution for safer drinking-water until longer-term infrastructure improvements can be implemented (22).
Health, education
Community, schools/ child-care settings,
Information, education and communication
UBN.VB.ZZ&XBO8.6
Awareness raising concerning water quality
Community
• WHO 2020: WHO sanitary inspection (SI) forms support water safety planning and/or surveillance by presenting a simple set of questions designed to assess key sanitary risks to drinking-water supplies. SI packages – which include an updated SI form, technology fact sheet and management advice sheet – have been developed for various water supply system technologies (23). SI forms for additional technologies are included in volume 3 of the GDWQ: surveillance and control of community supplies (16).
• WHO 2017: Water safety planning: a roadmap to supporting resources (10)
This overview includes publications by WHO and partners and provides guidance on various aspects of water safety planning, such as development, implementation, training, advocacy and auditing.
• WHO/Neglected Tropical Disease NGO Network 2020: WASH and health working together: a ‘how to’ guide for NTD programmes (29)
This is a toolkit to address WASH and neglected tropical diseases.
• UNICEF 2017: Thirsting for a future: water and children in a changing climate (30)